Chain pump



i atented Jan. 22, 192

FREDERICK e. PECK, or saensoan, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAIN PUMP.

Application'filed March 2, 19 21." Serial No. 449,151.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Fnnniuucn G. Peon, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Bradford, in the county of McKean and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Chain Pumps,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pumps of the kind including an endless chainprovided with buckets which carry the liquid, and more particularly tobucket-s adapted for use with a pump of this kind.

Chain pumps as heretofore made are so constructed that they areunsatisfactory for use in connection with deep wells, such as oil wells,for the reason that the chain andbuckets are formed in such a mannerthat they could not withstand the severe strain to which they would besubjected ifused in a deep well, due to the weight that the chain wouldbe obliged to sustain.

The objects of this invention are to porvide a bucket chain of thiskind'which is so constructed that it can be used in connection with deepWells; also to provide buckets of in'iproved construction which can beused in connection with chains of standard make or size; also to improvethe construction of buckets and bucket chains in other respectshereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings l is a transverse sectional elevation of apump housing containing the driving sprocket and showing the chain andbuckets embodying the invention.

Fig. 2'is an end view on an enlarged scale, of a link of the chain,having a bucket secured thereon. i

'Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation of a chain showing a link supportinga. bucket.

Figr4: is a view similar to Fig. 3, and showing the bucket in: section,as indicated by ale-4,- Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view thereofon line-55, Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a bucket detached from the chain.

A represents the housing of a bucket and chain pump or liquid elevatingdevice, which housing is adapted to be secured at the upper end of awell casing, not shown, a tubular portion a; of the housing formingsubstantially a continuation of the well casing. In the housing isjournalled a shaft 6 on which a sprocket wheel B is mounted.

The teeth of the sprocket wheel are adapted to'cooperate with alternatelinks of anend less chain, the two flights ofwhich extend into the wellcasing through the tubular portion a'ofthe housing. 6 represents anidler sprocketover which the chain passes and which guides the chaininto the tubular portion a of the housing. The housing is also providedwitha basin or depressed por tion a intowhich the oil is dischar ed fromthe buckets of the chainas the same pass over the sprocketwheel B. Y

The chain includes driving. links C and bucket-carrying links D, thedriving links C having adapted to engage with the sprocket teeth" of thewheel 13 and the bucket carrying links are adapted to enter into thespaces between the sprocket teeth, and each of the bucket-carrying linksDis provided with a bucket E. The chain is preferably 01 standardconstruction, the links being formed'in the usual manner to ensure thestrength required when a long length of. chain is used.

The-buckets E are so arranged as to cooperate I with links of the chainwithout necessitating the making of a special chain and the buckets arepreferably so made that theycan be readily placed into engagement withthe links of the chain or removed therefrom. In the construction shownfor this purpose. the buckets E are preferably'of unitary structure,being made of stamped metal and are madeof a diameter slightly greaterthan the distance between the inner edges of theparallel sidesof thechain links. In orderto make it possible to hold the buckets in place onthe links, the buckets are provided at diametrically opposite portionswith longitudinal grooves or depressions c. lVhen the buckets are intheir operative relations in regard to the chain links, thesides of alink enter into the depressions in the sides of the corresponding bucketand thus hold the bucket rigidly on the link. The buckets arepreferablymad'e of st'amped or drawn metal and thismetal is'suflicientlyresilient to permitthe buckets to'bo placed into operative relations tothe links after the chain has been formed. If for any reason a bucketbecomes worn out or damaged, it can be readily removed from the chain bysimply driving it out laterally from the link, and another bucket can beplaced into the link by pressing it laterally into the link until thesides I grooves in the imcket.

of the link snap into engagement with the By making the grooves in theform of depressions extending inwardly from the cylindrical periphery ofthe buckets, the walls of the buckets serve to guide the buckets intotheir operative relations to the links.

The buckets may be of any suitable or desired construction, those shownbeing of unitary structure and are provided with a lower end f ofreduced size, the diameter of this portion'of the bucket preferablybeing approximately the same as the distance between the inner portionsof the parallel sides of a chain link. This eliminates the necessity ofhaving the closed or bottom end. of the bucket yield when a bucket isforced into its operative position in the chain link, the yielding ofthis portion of the bucket being of course resisted by the bottom of thebucket, and since this portion is necessarily near the ends of the link,the chain link also will not yield as much as at this portion as at theintermediate portions thereof. The securing of the buckets in the linkscan also be assisted by providing the upper edges of the buckets with aninwardly tapering portion f, which is preferably employed. The bodyportion F of the bucket between the portions 7 and f is asbefore stated,slightly larger in diameter than the space between the parallel sides ofa chain link, but the portion of the bucket is considerably smaller indiameter than the distancebetween the outer edges of the parallelportions of the link. Since the chain, as shown, is made with all linksof substantially the same size,

. the sprocket links as well as the bucket-supporting links will protectthe sides of the buckets from rubbing against the casing of the well,since the links are of greater outside dimension than the diameter ofthe buckets.

By means of the constructiondescribed, a standard chain can be used, inwhich all of the links may be of the same size and shape. The buckets(an be readily placed into operative relation to the links by eitherpressing the same laterally into the links, or by driving them in withthe blow of ahamm-er or other tool. Consequently, the chain and bucketscan be very readily assembled so that a bucket of'this kind can beinexpensively produced. Furthermore, by using a standard chain thebuckets themselves will not be subjected to any strains when a-chain ofgreat length is used, and the buckets can be made of light constructionso as not to materially increase the weight which the chain has tosupport, This is an important consideration in the use of a device ofthis kind for pumping deep wells, in which a very long chain is used.Thischain and bucket pumping or elevating apparatus is particu larlydesirable for use in oil wells where the well is kept clear of sand orother obstructions, which are carried to the top together with the oil,so that the apparatus does not becomeinoperative owing to theaccumulation of sand or other material in the bottom of the Well.

I claim as my invention:

l. The combination of a chain having links of relatively heavy material,and buckets secured to alternate links of said chain and made ofresilient material, said buckets having body portions of substantiallycylindrical form and having longitudinal recesses in each of the sidesthereof extending inwardly from the cylindrical periphery of saidbuckets and into which the sides of the link may enter, whereby thecylindrical sides of said buckets serve to guide the sides of the linksinto their operative positions in said recesses, said buckets beingforced laterally into their operative posi tions in said links.

2. The combination of a chain having links of relatively heavy material,and buckets secured to alternate links of said chain and made ofresilient material, said buckets having body portions of substantiallycylindrical form and having longitudinal recesses in each of the sidesthereof into which the sides of the links may enter by forcing saidbuckets laterally into their operative positions in said links, theclosed endsof said bucket being convex so that said cylindrical portionsof the sides thereof may be sprung while the buckets are forced intotheir operative positions in said links.

3. The combination of a chain having all of its links of substantiallyequal transverse outside dimensions. and buckets of resilient materialadapted to be sprung into locking engagement with alternate links, saidbuckets havin cylindrical body portions of lesser diameter than theoutside dimension of said links and of greater diameter than thedistance between the sides of the links andhaving longitudinaldiametrically opposite FREDERICK o. PECK.

